1. Describe an example of the word research being used inappropriately. Be clear about how your example deviates from the definition of research offered in the textbook.
2. Why is it important that the researcher articulate, as clearly as possible, all assumptions that affect the research problem?
3. Daphne has been a member of a research team studying interpersonal aggression among preschoolers for more than a year. In that time, her team has repeatedly employed a consistent set of techniques and procedures to study preschoolers as they interact in a number of settings. The procedures revolve around volunteer mothers bringing their children to the university child development lab for a "play session" that is the basis of the formal observations. Settings they have studied so far include: the university pre-school, affluent local day-care centers, and a pre-kindergarten program being offered in the neighborhood school district. All of these settings were fairly racially homogenous.Daphne has just learned that a friend of a friend can help her gain research access, in the near future, to preschoolers in an unusually racially diverse though impoverished preschool setting. Daphne decides she has no time to prepare a formal research proposal before embarking on the study. "Besides," she thinks, "this study should go just like all the others we've done."
Is Daphne leaving herself open to problems in this situation, or is she safe moving ahead with no formal proposal, given how familiar she is with the study techniques and procedures?
4. Kirby is conducting a literature review in preparation for his study of "expectations regarding the sharing of financial and practical responsibilities among married and cohabiting couples in which both partners are between the ages of 20 and 29." Conducting a keyword search on "couples" and "responsibility," Kirby has generated a lengthy list of research articles. He decides to shorten the list of potential articles by eliminating all articles that were not published in prestigious research journals. He will include all the remaining articles in his literature review.
What is your opinion of Kirby's approach to selecting articles for the literature review? Explain.
5. You are reading a literature review written by a novice researcher in your field. You notice that the researcher seems to have relied heavily on an Internet search while conducting the literature review. Your hunch is supported when you glance at the reference page and find a long list of Internet addresses.
What goes through your mind regarding the quality and adequacy of the literature review in this situation?